Comedy Aside

We are partnering with a new internet radio concern. Radio 23. Heading this up is Jeff Simmons, an ambitious radio colleague, who is creating various channels to feature hip-hop, comedy, drama, etc. Looking forward to those various channels, so that comedy doesn't get sandwiched inbetween raw language. This is an international concern, with possibilities. This kind of exposure isn't your minus 23 degrees in freezing blizzards... if you catch my drift... no pun intended.

Yet another assignment: to draw on the influence of jazz and the connection it has to all things spiritual, Third Coast Live-Radio Theater, Inc., contributes to Radio Sausalito’s request to air a 5 minute show on Sundays. Listen to the sample recording herein and the deeper discussions from which jazz hails. (More weather references, sorry).

At its best, music serves as an instrument of self-mastery and compassion. It is an experience of deep level communication – both between band members and between an artist and an audience alike. It unifies them. It inspires awe and human self-respect. It produces self-forgetting and joy. It keeps the lonely company, consoles the broken-hearted. It bespeaks possibilities of hope and grace and presents us with the keys to the secret doors within us all. And all of this is possible without the utterance of a single lyric or overt statement of a language other than that of music itself.

The very act of learning to play an instrument while improvising at deep levels, brings to mind the spiritual habits of meditation and prayer. The mastery of an instrument and voice, is an existential exercise. The performance of Jazz improvisation requires that the artist be fully present in his or her consciousness.

"The musician defines him or herself over the course of a life by the time one spends being fully present in the music. It is a life full of personal overcoming, of deep listening, of humanity and (one hopes) of an increase in deep understanding".

Plenty of players of many backgrounds have written explicitly from Spirit to Spirit. Recordings attest to it. Among the most famous are John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” and Duke Ellington’s “Sacred Concerts”. Dave Brubeck has written sacred works for several settings, and was even awarded an honorary Doctorate in Sacred Theology from The University of Fribourg in Switzerland.

And the Spirit in Jazz is not limited to the Christian genre. Charley Mingus said simply, “My music is evidence of my soul’s will to expand”. (Beneath the Underdog, 1971) Dizzy Gillespie drew parallels between the developments of religion and Jazz: in both God raises up leaders to take humankind up to new levels of spiritual development. Indeed, we can hear the transitional nature the music of jazz provides, as Dr. Ardley describes in this brief interview, jazz is “traveling music”. It drags “you along” from one level to another, to a place where Our Creator takes us: always higher and more divinely. Just ask Jimmy Scott, who sings my favorite rendition of "Raining Pennies from Heaven".

The wet cold is getting to me...all the fog in this blog. I am missing the sweltering topical rains.

Til next time, keep listening

 

Talent Quest, The Final Frontier?

Well! Had we known, we should have spent our time and money elsewhere. Evidently the "Talent Quest marketing minds" were diligently at work with the question: How do we bring in "new " listeners? Specifically, the "new" target marketing age range of the 22 year olds to 44 year olds. They knew! Have a radio "American Idol" contest, and it will boost the listenership of the competitively minded youth! Brilliant!

However, anyone over this age, will now turn their loyalties, and money (if they're smart) to anywhere local- gorilla- radio. Maybe this contest boosted sales of XM radio or Sirius ! I'd like to see the results of querries.

I've thought about it: this is where folks who honestly answered the Talent Questionairre age question, to be above the 45 year mark, were automatically deleted~ some of the best producers in the business were catagorically dropped out of viable contender-hood, due to age. The rest were dropped because they either did not guess what the notion "hostiness" meant, or did not offer cleanly produced items.

A couple of finalists were greatly creative. Everyone has their personal taste, but I enjoyed the Austin, Texas contender who introduced an idea of opposites. He asked: Were "they" looking for the "typical NPR personality who is smart, probably college degreed, and from New York? or maybe the real contender is a high school drop out who works the night shift at a motel? (SFX: enters a customer asking to confirm their reservations). He says, " Bingo". Very nice.

It's the only industry whereby age discrimination is considered fair! So says the chatter on the web (notabley "AIR", the website for radio producers with engineering questions).

Also, answers the question: why do some very talented radio-biz- personalities-folks, hold uneasy feelings with regard to NPR?

Same answer as the above. They were most likely booted due to Age.

The chatter "tone" is that of a dignified, "It doesn't matter to me..... but, had we known...why waste time?" The "older you get" the more valuable time is as a commodity. Which brings to the fore, the especially hilarious "people's choice" of the 24 year old female
finalist, who's "hostiness" included the "fact" that she at her youth, could give anyone life advice. Eh hem. That advice, unless it's
channeled by an "ancient spirit" is best respectfully given with education and time. Cute picture of her, though.

In the end, our time was well spent, if you made friends and learned something from it. Three time Peabody Award Winning, Marjorie Van Halteren says to this producer, "I gave you Five Stars." And when the votes came in, said, "You are still a STAR"....Shucks, and all of that. Hey. She should know! She is the radio queen, in my opinion, having co-produced Bob and Ray, co-produced at the Carnegie Hall, numerous Armstrongs, teaches in France....her credits are many, and her advice golden.

Onward to production. Thank you for your thoughts on this topic and others!

Your Panhandle Companion.

 

Mike Meyers, Chris Farley and similar comedians, hail from Second City, Toronto, Canada. Well ! We are flattered to mix our company, with the Great Country of Canada ! So, we are pleased to begin our broadcast in

Halifax, Canada--the country that breeds comedy!

On September 6, 2005, Tuesday 8:00 pm EST, aires the first of many radio montages, from across the Northern Hemisphere.

HEADLINE NEWS:

"People need to hear this."

And so says XM satellite executive producer, Steve Karesh, in a recent telephone conversation with BK Turning. Third Coast Live Radio Theater is now working, in studio, to reproduce broadcast quality sound of our original comedy material for XM radio, in order to meet this exciting offer in a timely fashion. Temporarily off stage, we are focusing our talents in the studio and in post production.

Audience laughter is the fuel which moves the vehicle... but when broadcasting, we want the sound to be crystal clear ! When we return to the stage, we have a very different format to introduce to our audience. One which is full of surprizes, audience participation, music, and mystery!

Until that time, remember: "Listening is the key to understanding."